Washboard



A. HORTON.

WASHBOARD.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.2I, 1915.

Patented May 4, 1920.

gvwewtoz PM; w

1%. f/ol'oio.

AARON HORTON, 035 DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

I WASHBOARD.

Specification of Letters latent.

Patented May 4, 1920.

Application filed September 21, 1918. Serial No. 255,147.

To all whom it may concern 2' Be it known that I, AARON HORTON a citizen of the United States, residin at etroit, in the county of Wayne and tate of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lVashboards, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention is a wash-board of that type having an opening in its rubbing front through which the face of a cake of soap is exposed, and the invention herein consists in the specific means for feeding said cake forward positively at intervals, rather than hearing it forward constantly by yielding force. A grating is usually provided to limit the forward movement of the soap, and it is found that when the cake becomes soft under the influence of heat and moisture, a follower which is constantly borne forward by spring pressure feeds the soap so rapidly that the grating embeds its front face and the cake is worn away and consumed more quickly than need be. The substitution of positive means actuated manually from time to time is therefore a little more than the replacing of one form of feed by another, because the labor of actuating this feed now thrown onto the operator finds its offset in the saving in the waste of soap.

The following specification describes the preferred manner of carrying out the invention. I v In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the washing board embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical front to rear view through the board;

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view on the line 8-3 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

The board, except for the improvements embodying the present invention, is of the ordinary construction and includes the usual stiles or side pieces 1, top rail 2, and bottom rail 3. The board frame also in cludes an intermediate rail 4: and a backing board 5 which extends between the stiles 1 and vertically between the rails 3 and 1, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Thefront of the board is as usual of sheet metal and is indicated in general by the sectional numeral 6, and this front extends from the top rail '2 to the bottom rail 3 and transversely between the stiles 1. From a point above the m ddle or intermediate rail 1 to the lower 1111113, the front 611s corrugated as indicated by the numeral 7 to provide a rubbing surface, but above its corrugated portion it is preferably plain as shown in the drawings, and as indicated by the numeral 8. The portion 8 of the said front 6 is formed between the stiles 1 and at the upper end of the corrugated portion 7, with an opening 9 through which the forward side of the cake'of soap is to project, as will be presently explained. The cake of soap is to be housed in a hood provided at the rear side of the board in the upper portion thereof and this hood is preferably of sheet metal and comprisessides 10, 'a top wallll, and a bottom wall 12. The top wall 11 is preferably secured to the rear side or edge of the top rail 2, and also is preferably formed with an opening 13 normally closed by a door 1 1 hinged preferably at its lower side as at 15 at the lower side of the opening 13 and held closed at its upper side by means of any suitable latch device 16. The bottom or drain wall 12 is inclined downwardly and forwardly from the rear wall 11 and is united in any suitable manner to the rear side of the corrugated portion 7 of the front 6 and preferably extends over and rests upon the intermediate rail 4: so as to be afforded firm support. The numeral 17 indicates a shelf or horizontal partition wall which extends between the sides 10 above described and between the upper end of the corrugated portion 7 of the front 6 and the lower edge of the rear wall 11 of the said hood. This shelf is formed near its rear edge withone or more openings 18 so that any water flowing rearwardly over the surface of the shelf will be discharged on to the inclined bottom or drain wall 12 and will flow downwardly to the rear side of the corrugated portion 7 of the said front of the board, openings 19 being provided in the corrugated front 7 through which the soapy water may be returned to the rubbing surface of the board instead of being permitted to flow or drain back into the water in the tub. In order to limit the forward movement of the cake of soap through the opencake 0 ing 9 and also to support the cake with its lower side in spaced relation to the upper surface of the shelf 17, the latter for a purpose to be presently explained, a suitable number of wires or small rods 20 are secured each at one end to or through the shelf 17 near the rear side thereof and are led from their said ends forwardly over the upper face of the shelf to the opening 9. From this point the wires or rods are led vertically slightly in advance of the plane of the portion 8 of the front of the board and across the opening 9, and the upper end portions of the wires or rods are inserted through openings 21 in the said portion 8 of the plain front at or adjacent the upper side of the opening 9 and are secured to the rear or inner side of the said portion 8 in any suitable manner. It will now be understood that when a cake of soap, indicated by the reference letter C is introduced into the soap compartment through the opening 13, the door 14 having been swung open, the lower side or edge of the cake will rest upon the horizontal portions of the wires which extend over the upper surface of the shelf 17 and which might be called rails designated specifically by the reference numeral 22, and the forward face of the cake will rest against a grating composed of the vertically extending portions 23 of the said wires or rods and will project slightly beyond the forward face of the portion 8. I

As before stated, means is provided for holding the cake against the grating and for feeding the cake positively forward as it is worn away, and this means comprises a follower having a head 24 preferably comprising a plate of sheet metal provided with a marginal rearwardly projecting flange 25, the flange at the lower edge of the plate resting upon the rails 22 with the forward face of the plate presented to the rear face of the soap C. one end of a feedscrew 27 is rigidly secured to the rear side of the head 2% and fitting this screw is an internally threaded sleeve or tubular nut 28 which is provided ex- 7 teriorly with a circumscribing rib 29. This rib rests against an inwardly extending flange 30 which surrounds an opening 81 in the rear end of a hollow thimble 32 fitted through and secured to the rear wall 11 of the soap compartment 10, the nut rearwardly of its rib 29 fitting rotatab'ly through the opening 31 as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. In order that the nut 28 may be rotated so as to forwardly or rearwardly feed the screw 27 and impart corresponding motion to the follower head 24, a hand wheel or the like 33 is keyed or otherwise secured upon the rear end of the nut and at its forward side the hub of this wheel engages against the rear side of the flange30of, the thimble 32. In this manner By an attaching plate 26,

invention it will be understood that after" the feed screw has been drawn rearwardly so as to retract the follower 24;, the door 14 may be opened and a cake of soap inserted into the hood with its forward side seating in the opening 9 and its rear side presented to the follower 24, the lower side of the cake being supported above the shelf 17 by the track portion 22 of the wires 20. The feed screw 27 may then be fed forwardly by rotating the hand wheel 33, so as to cause the follower head 24 to bear more or less firmly against the cake of soap and'force the same against the restraining or grate portion 23 of the said wires 20. This adjustment of the follower may, of course, be repeated as the cake of soap becomes worn down. It will also be understoodthat. any water rich in soap and squeezed from clothes in rubbing the clothes'ov'er the face of the cake of soap will not merely run downover the face of the board and'into the more or less dirty water in the tub, but will flow rearwardly over the shelf 17, the :board being naturally inclined in a direction to cause such flow, and will pass through the opening or openings 18 and be directed by the bottom 12 through the openings. 19 and on to the rubbing surface by-the time the clothes have been shifted to said surface.

In this manner there is little or no waste of relatively clean water rich in soap and the same may be utilized in cleansing the clothes.

In order to assist in guiding the follower 2st in its movement within the soap container, the shelf 17 is stamped up midway between its ends to form an upstanding; rib 35 extending in a front to rear direction,

and the bottom flange 25 of the follower is, likewise stamped up between its ends. so as to provide spaced depending ribs 86- forming between them a groove or channel 37 into which the rib'seats. To further assist in guiding the follower, plates 38 are secured to the opposite side walls 10 of the soap receptacle and are provided withinwardly laterally projecting flanges 39 which overlie the upper corners of the followerin the manner clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

therefrom to the rear, and means for guida tubular nut threaded on said screw and ing the head for movement over the shelf having a rib rotatably mounted inside said toward and from said grating; combined flange, and a hand wheel fast on the nut 10 with a hood carried by the wash-board and with its hub against the outside of said inclosing said shelf and follower, a thimble flange.

secured through the rear wall of the hood In testimon whereof I aflix m signature. and having an internal flange at its rear end, ARON HORTO [L. s.] 

